Vancouver mayor and police chief blame Stanley Cup riot on anarchists

Police subdue a fan during a riot after the Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Boston Bruins June 15, 2011.Gerry Kahrmann
/ PNG

Fans at Richards and Georgia after seventh game of Stanley Cup finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.teve Bosch
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Riot officers charge into the crowd as Canucks fans riot after the Vancouver Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins in The Stanley cup final, Vancouver, June 15 2011.Gerry Kahrmann
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Fans at Richards and Georgia after seventh game of Stanley Cup finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.Steve Bosch
/ PNG

Violence breaks out in Vancouver after the Canucks lose the Stanley Cup final.Jessica B
/ Special to The Sun

Rioters try to flip a car on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.Bruce Bennett
/ AFP/Getty Images

A rioter jumps on the top of a car on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.Bruce Bennett
/ AFP/Getty Images

People flip a vehicle on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.Bruce Bennett
/ AFP/Getty Images

Rioters smash the windows of the Bank of Montreal at Homer and Georgia after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Wednesday. June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.Ian Lindsay
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Police and rioters clash after the Vancouver Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver, B.C. on Wednesday, June 15, 2011.Gerry Kahrmann
/ PNG

Rioters wrapped in Canucks items taunt the police along Homer street after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Wednesday, June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.Ian Lindsay
/ PNG

Canucks fans render first aid to an unconsciuos man injured in a fight after the Vancouver Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins in The Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver, June 15 2011.Gerry Kahrmann
/ PNG

Rioters throw tear gas cannister back at police along Granville Street near Nelson after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.Steve Bosch
/ PNG

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VANCOUVER -- Roving bands of anarchists and troublemakers bent on havoc set fires, broke windows and whipped up booze-fuelled mobs to create the worst riot in Vancouver’s history, Mayor Gregor Robertson said Thursday.

The mayor said there was no advance warning of the strategy, which caught police and city officials off guard, and may force them to take a different approach to security plans for large public gatherings in the future.

“There had been absolutely no signs of this coming,” Robertson said Thursday afternoon. “Both during the G-20 [leaders’ summit in Toronto] and the 2010 Olympics these thugs were well known to be organizing and preparing to take action and criminal activities on the streets. There were no indications of that leading into last night,” he said.

“Definitely there are citizens responsible for inflaming the situation. But there were purposeful vandals who instigated this and very cleverly whipped many others into a frenzy by attacking cars and storefronts and moving throughout the downtown to create more hot spots.”

The mayor was commenting on how a public celebration of the final match of the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final descended into a night of rampage. It left more than 150 people injured, more than 50 businesses damaged, 15 cars destroyed and at least 14 officers nursing cuts, bites and in one case, a concussion.

As Vancouverites cleaned up in the aftermath and spontaneously wrote messages of apology and inspiration on plywood covering broken windows, city officials were asking themselves whether they did enough to prevent the widespread damage and looting.

Robertson, Premier Christy Clark and Police Chief Jim Chu all defended the decision to encourage as many as 100,000 people to come into downtown Vancouver to watch the games on huge screens at designated fan zones.

They applauded police efforts to quell the riot, but Robertson conceded the city and the province will have to review the actions of police and city officials to determine what went wrong to make sure similar riots won’t happen again.

And he said the lack of forewarning about “anarchists and thugs” planning to bring hammers and Molotov cocktails to a public party may mean police will have to adopt new methods of intelligence-gathering.

“We’re going to have to make changes,” he said as he toured the damage. “Based on what happened last night, we’re going to have to understand how this was enabled to happen.”

At least three people were seriously injured, including two who were stabbed and one man who is in critical condition after falling from the Dunsmuir Viaduct.

There are no estimates of damages to property yet, but it is expected to be in the millions of dollars.

In a briefing with reporters, Chu defended his officers and said they tried first to calm the crowds with their friendly “meet and greet” policy. But he admitted he may have underestimated the potential for problems downtown, which quickly emerged as his officers were spread out across the city.

“When a crowd is this large, it is difficult to go and pick off the instigators and troublemakers,” he said. “That is what we encountered that night. The crowd was very, very large. At the live sites there was a plan to create corridors for people to get through but they were quickly taken over. Those criminals and anarchists hide behind the large number of people. They were looking for that opportunity.”

Chu said that when the riot broke out, officers at the live sites retreated and were redeployed in protective equipment. Officers elsewhere were reassigned to the downtown.

“In hindsight, had we known what would happen, we probably would have had more police officers deployed there. But we didn’t know that,” Chu said.

Officers tried early in the day to get an upper hand on the flow of alcohol into the fan zones. They poured out any booze they could find, searched bags and made sure liquor stores were shut early. But reporters in the fan zones reported seeing people bringing in large amounts of alcohol when police weren’t around. As thousands of people streamed into the fan zones, the perimeters collapsed.

“The live sites quickly became non-existent,” said Assistant Fire Chief Wade Pierlot. His fire prevention officers didn’t have the power to stop the influx.

Firefighters found themselves being pelted and spit on, something they aren’t used to, he said. By the end of the night, they had responded to more than 387 incidents, many involving small fires.

With a file from Tracy Sherlock

jefflee@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/sunciviclee

Blog: www.vancouversun.com/jefflee

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Vancouver mayor and police chief blame Stanley Cup riot on anarchists

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